In short: Professional and Awesome. Thank you so much to the whole staff, especially Inge and Jim for their dive instruction. The longer version: I had to do my PADI cert twice due to administration issues overseas. Comparing my previous experience to Dive Locker, the Dive Locker is way more helpful and professional. They guide you through every step of the process, and it feels like a well-oiled machine. I can't imagine a better way to get your cert (even though the ocean here is really cold). By the end of the program, even students that were struggling had a strong grasp on how to dive. There's no judgement at all. I didn't think I'd enjoy coldwater diving as much as I did, but on my final dive I got to see things underwater I never knew existed here; Giant anemones, massive star fish and tons of cool fish. If you can get through the training and stand the cold, it's definitely worth getting your cert with Dive Locker. read more

I did business with Vancouver Diving. The service was excellent. I have sent several emails requesting information. Paul and Riley responded quickly and were patient with me. I recommand it. read more

Just had an awesome time doing my open water certification. I had not gone diving in 18 years, and I'm now in less than perfect shape. Instructors were all amazing, patient, and fun. Would definitely recommend this place to anyone!! read more

Do no go to this store! I just bought a full face mask yesterday at full price 169.95cad. Today I found the store next to it https://www.rowandsreef.com has the exactly the same product on sale at price of 129.99cad. I called in for price match and they refused. For a cad190 product, they charged a difference of almost cad45! That's ridiculous. I'm very disappointed with the store manager and their boss, it's not the way to do business. Every store has the price match policy nowadays. I won't go this store anymore, check the rowandsreef store just a few steps always from it definitely next time! read more

Vancouver Diving Locker - 129.99 cad on sale - Sporting Goods Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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I grew up in Florida, and am no stranger to the water. However, I've never done much in the way of diving. I went in here to get a snorkel and fins- for a trip down to warmer waters. The staff was extremely helpful, I spoke with Catherine about scuba lessons. She was very informative and has me seriously considering getting certified. On a side note- this place is easily recognizable by it's funky sea-shell covered exterior! Very festive! read more

Vancouver Diving Locker - Sporting Goods Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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The Diving Locker is hands-own Vancouver's best dive shop. I've been taking courses and refreshers there for over ten years and have only ever received top notch service. With a strong and supportive team, I feel confident in the Diving Locker's ability to work with all levels of divers and snorkelers, offering excellent advice and suggestions. If you are thinking of learning to dive or hone your practice, I highly recommend this business which located in the heart of Kitsilano. Can't wait to get back in the water! read more

I found Vancouver Diving Locker by internet search. I signed up for a dry suit course and was pleased by the quality instructors and pacing of the course. I decided to go back to the Diving Locker for some servicing: I purchased a new computer, regulator, and octo and wanted them assembled by a pro. The head instructor, Paul was very accommodating​ that day, putting my gear together and checking it out to be sure all was well. I then decided to purchase a custom dry suit from Vancouver Diving Locker and met with Chelsea who performed the measurements and helped me choose which undergarments and extras I wanted to go with the suit. The staff is friendly and very helpful. They answer questions clearly and respond quickly to inquiries​. I really enjoy this dive shop. read more

I was a very loyal customer buying gear and training to rescue diver with the diving locker. Every holiday I service my regulators and was typically charged about $85. My last servicing jumped to $350(with no approval) including a battery replacement for $70!!!!. The battery the year before was $15 on their books(its a $3 battery and 1 minute replacement). Guess in a recession, Nail your customers to make ends meet. I Left 3 (nice) messages for the owner. . he is choosing to ignore me. -Bryan Ward read more

Awesome!! I came to learn how to dive and I left with so much more The instructors are awesome and so much fun. So helpful and patient...I definitely couldn't do their job And the sales staff is equally as awesome. Being new at diving I have no idea what I'm looking for or need when it comes to buying my own gear, but they are so knowledgeable and really great with helping you out. I can't wait to get out there on the Sunday Safari's! read more

Just stopped in here to pick up a mask & snorkel for the annual sun trip, I'd always been fine with rental equipment, but last year's diving experience in Thailand ended that. The sales girl was extremely helpful and informative, handing me different masks to try on & explaining the pros and cons of the cheaper & more expensive masks & snorkels. They offer a discount when you purchase mask, snorkel, and fins - but I find fins take up too much space to actually cart around the world; The Diving Locker was still able to help me out with a bit of a discount for the two pieces. Based on my experience as a customer I would definitely make The Diving Locker my first choice for local dives, if only my diving partner weren't a wimp about the cold waters. read more

The Diving Locker is the shop I consider my LDS (Local Dive Shop). There is a fairly good selection of equipment and accessories. The staff were well-informed (especially if you talk to the owner) and the shop is located at the very convenient West 4th and Macdonald (well, if you live in Kits anyways). For that forgotten item before the holiday, I've found the Diving Locker quite useful. They also service and repair equipment. I was very happy to have my Apeks regs serviced at this shop - as a lot of shops round here don't want anything to do with this particular make. Sure buying dive equipment from one of the big online retailers may be cheap but consider important things such as warranty and servicing and it's always nice to examine your potential purchases and speak to a real human being. read more

I had a fantastic experience at the Diving Locker just recently. I was running around town looking for freediving equipment and clothing, which is never an easy thing due to my sizing requirements. Shannon and Ashley were so helpful and went out of their way to help me find what I needed. The customer service was outstanding and they carry some really great products at great prices. Thank you again for your help! I'm all set for my next diving adventure. read more

Never trust the Diving Locker. I got my gear serviced here this past summer and I am completely horrified by the experience. My regulator came back with 3 missing parts, an inverted o-ring and too much lever slack on the 2nd stage. I got my gear back in an extremely dangerous condition, much worse than when I brought it in. Just to add insult, they told me I would have my gear serviced in one week, 5 weeks later I was able to take the gear back home - days before I was moving out of the country. I am completely shocked by how terrible this company is, and I am horrified that they would return gear in such poor condition. Although they gave me a full refund, the hassle and headache was certainly not worth it. I would be very cautious about using this company for ANYTHING, I'm sure I'm not the only customer this has happened to, but since I use my dive equipment for work I was lucky to find out all the mistakes they made by my supervisor before I got in the water. read more

Hands down the best culture and my favorite place to learn, dive for fun, and to buy all my equipment.

I took my Open Water, Advanced Open Water and Dry Suit specialty here and have a mixed review. In terms of equipment offered they sell Bare suits and a decent selection of other gear. Their shop prices aren't the cheapest in town but you don't buy gear at an LDS for the prices, you buy local to keep your LDS afloat so they'll be there when you need them. I've bought a bunch of gear from Diving Locker and have gotten good advice from the staff and instructors (of course I always search reviews and http://scubaboard.com first anyway). One of the best things about the Diving Locker is their flexible class scheduling. They teach so many divers that they have several PADI classes running every week so you can arrange to jump into whatever class meets your schedule to complete the various programs. My mixed review comes because of their instructional staff. Diving Locker has been around for a long time and has some great resources in terms of instructors available to call in when needed. However, they seem to go through a lot of different instructors, and their instructional staff turns over quite a bit. I'm not sure if this is because of how much the owner is paying them or how they are treated but it makes it so you never really know what you're getting. Sometimes you'll get lucky, other times you get instructors that don't inspire a lot of confidence and aren't the best educators. I saw one website describe them as a revolving door of instructors - and the quality of these instructors is all over the place. One of the defining aspects of a dive shop is its instructors and ideally a shop will have at least one instructor on staff who provides an anchor that sets the bar for quality, experience and educational ability. While some of the folks who used to teach at DL are fantastic instructors (including Greg from what I hear), the shop is really lacking that anchor. If you are lucky enough to be part of a really busy dive weekend and they have to call in one of their former instructors as a contractor you could be in for a treat! However, it's hit or miss. I've heard similar reviews of Rowand's Reef. In summary, the shop sells great gear and rents great well-maintained gear, the shop staff are knowledgeable and helpful, the course module scheduling is probably the easiest in terms of your time that you'll find in Vancouver, but their instructional staff is inconsistent. If you are serious about learning to dive correctly, rather than just learning how to not kill yourself and your buddy, I'd recommend International Diving Center, Vancouver (teaches PADI as well as GUE) and Ocean Quest Water Sports, Burnaby. read more

Very cool place, and I'm not even a diver. Went there to get my daughter a wet suit for lifeguarding, and great, friendly service. Tells you the discounts up front etc. Looks like they have local scuba trips and classes etc. Makes me want to become a diver! read more

I got defective prescription lenses for a mask that ended up taking a lot of time out of my trip. I thought it was fair that I pay for the mask but get refunded for the lenses. The owner finally got back to me to say he would only give store credit, which isn't really useful when you're not a diver. To me this is pretty much stealing and I regard him as dishonest and also annoying because of how smug he was and I hope I have nothing to do with him ever again. It's disgusting having to talk to a person acting that way; it's a bad feeling to be forced to make a purchase while the owner laughs at you because he has your money. Yuk! read more

I recently took my Open Water course with the Diving Locker, and it was great. The instructors were really nice, and really knowledgeable. The course was run smoothly. They have a great selection of diving gear, and if you keep your eyes open, some good sale prices. I'm glad I took my course with them, and I plan to continue on with my diving education through them. Five stars! read more

I came here b/c I was in town for the weekend and wanted to get back into the water no matter cold it was. It was just myself and Greg took me to Whytecliff Park in West Vancouver. We had a good dive. Lots of seals and starfish of every color. Everyone at the store was very nice and I'll go there again if I ever have the opportunity. read more

Thanks to a couple of reviews found here in Feb, I signed up for Open Water certificate training, & got the 15% Yelp discount, very appreciative. Paul was my instructor, & he is absolutely fantastic! Positive, informative, patient, expains things very well, & most of all, is a lot of fun. The Pacific cold got to me on the 2nd day of ocean dives, but Paul totally understood & had several suggestions to help next time. I'll be back to finish next month for sure, and will definitely look to go on a few dives with this team & get some equipment when done. Awesome experience with Diving Locker! read more

I moved to Vancouver from the Okanagan 4 months ago with the purpose to become a diving instructor. I have completed many courses such as rescue, emergency first response, and navigation specialty with the Vancouver Diving Locker. I have gone on so many great local trips to gain my dive count, and am now completing my dive master. The shop has now become family ! The instructors and staff are knowledgable, safe, and charismatic. My mentor has been there for me and continues to challenge me to become the best diver I can be. I come to the shop just to hang out ! read more

So I signed up for my advanced open water course and went in to get fitted for my gear. I arrived on the first morning to find my kit bag 100% empty, I had the basics myself (fins/boots/gloves/mask and snorkel). They seemed very unconcerned and the response I got was "well that's why you should check you bag"!!! My initial dive (navigation) started off fine however as we were returning to shore my BCD suddenly inflated and I shot to the surface. Well they blamed the novice diver, luckily I was only about 6 feet below the surface. The second dive was the night dive, I had said that this was the dive I was most concerned about but they reassured me that I would be fine. We swam out the descend point and we began our descent. I was struggling to descend as my BCD wouldn't deflate properly, someone grabbed my ankle and tried to pull me down. As I looked down all I saw was everyone swimming off (including the 2 dive masters) and all I could see where their lights disappearing int to the darkness, as I still couldn't descend I chose to remain at the surface in the same spot (as you are taught to do) I was there for 15 minutes before anyone noticed I was missing. I'm sure I don't need to tell you what could have happened in those 15 minutes. After 15 minutes one of the dive masters surfaced and asked me what happened and he wouldn't believe that my BCD was faulty " that never happens" he said and that it was my fault as my BCD was over inflated. As we got to shore I left my tank and BCD deflated on the shore to return to the change room to get out of dive gear. In the mean time the rest of the students and dive master returned. The dive master had picked up my BCD and returned it to the me, my BCD was overinflated again. I also lost my mask and snorkel during that time. When I went to the shop the following day for my second day of training, I was told that "yes my BCD was fault, it had a faulty valve" that day they managed to get my dive gear correct in my bag. There were 2 groups of divers going out that day (in 2 vans) and everyone's just jumped in. I got in to a van with a spare seat. Only after about fifteen minutes does my dive master phone from the other van phone someone in my van asking where I was as I was supposed to be in his van as he needed to give my group a pre dive talk and also do some tests prior to our deep dive. When we got to the dive site my group swam off and left me. It was at this point I'm not ashamed to say I lost it and turned back to the shore alone. I was in tears thinking back to how they had swam off and left me the day before and I was terrified what would happen to me during my deep dive. My dive master followed me back to the van. I got changed and went to sit on the beach and eat my lunch. I got back to the van just as my group arrived I got complete attitude from my dive master "where have you been?" " I thought you'd gone back to Vancouver as as gear isn't here", we were are Porteau cove and I had no way of getting back to vancouver and my gear was clearly in the van. My dive master was called Tahvo he was somewhat inappropriate, the amount of times I heard him say "it's good enough for the girls I date"!!! After a somewhat shocking experience not one person had the decency to call me and get my side of what happened or to even reach out to me. It's been quite a kind since this happened and I still feel hurt at the way I was treate. They really don't care about there divers and only care about money, wel, they have $360 of my money and in return I had some of the most terrible customer service I've ever received. I cancelled a dive the following month and they do not do refunds but they leave the money on "your file". I have no idea if they put the money back on my file as I personally can't face going the again let alone diving with them. I have unfortunately not been diving since this experience, I feel that the dive locker has well and truly ruined this for me. read more

I bought a wetsuit for my 10 year old daughter for a trip over spring break. She is unable to go because of severe mental illness. Not only are we unable to go on the trip, but DIVING LOCKER won't agree to a refund even under these circumstances. Commercialism outweighs compassion. I've bought many items from them in the past but won't support their business in the future. read more

Found them to be somewhat rushed and unorganized. Wish they were better at taking the time to go through instructions slowly and made sure everyone was prepared before going in the water. read more

I've been trying to book my rescue course with them for months and they've been absolutely terrible in responding. Not helpful AT ALL - The course set up is kind of confusing as I need my rescue, EFR, dry suit, as well as all rentals. I had a lot of time to research but I'm leaving soon and out of time to do my course. I've even sent follow up emails that went completely unanswered. I will be booking my $500 course with someone else who actually responds to customer emails looking for help. Thanks a lot for the great customer service, dive locker. read more

I found the group too big and the area we had in the pool too small for such a large group. It would have been nice to be able to actually move under water with the gear on. Also I would have enjoyed it more having a wet suit on since it was pretty cold and it gives a better idea of how it feels like with the complete gear going out in the ocean. It would be nice to include the rental in the lesson and offer people the opportunity. Sice it was an introductory lesson and I assume most of the people have never had the experience to breath through a mask under water before I would have liked to practice breathing under water as a first step. i felt kind of rushed through the course. Also the theoretical class in the beginning was a lot of information at once. I believe that it was an important information and should be treated as such and not rush it through with having to fill out a questionnaire at the same time. What I liked about the course was that most of the instructors were really nice and created a nice atmosphere. read more